Vehicular safety has evolved from conventional seatbelts and airbags to include wireless communications for a passenger or vehicle to notify a service provider of an event, such as a medical emergency, vehicular accident, or requesting directions. One such communication system is commonly known as OnStar®. The OnStar® vehicular communication system is integrated into a vehicle and uses a mobile communication system to contact a service provider and a global positioning system (GPS) technology to report position of the vehicle when contacting the service provider. This communication system enables the service provider to remotely control certain aspects of the vehicle as well, including unlocking doors. Generally, use of the OnStar® communications system includes an initial purchase payment and monthly service fees.
There are a number of problems with the OnStar® communications system. One such problem is that the OnStar® communications system is currently limited to General Motors' vehicles. While the OnStar® communications system is useful for a variety of safety and informational purposes, the system is limited to General Motors' vehicles and not easily uninstalled from one vehicle and reinstalled in a different vehicle. In other words, an individual or family concerned with safety would need to purchase General Motors vehicles with OnStar® communications systems for each currently-owned, and most likely, future owned vehicle. Because of these limitations, widespread use of the communications system has not occurred.